Extruded hinge



y 2, 1957 A. J. GORDON 3,317,078

EXTRUDED HINGE Filed July 29, 1965 INVENTOR ALFRED J. GORDON 4N. AM

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,317,078 EXTRUDED HINGE Alfred Jack Gordon, Adrian, Mich, assignor to Great Lakes Aluminum Fabricators, Inc., Hudson, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed July 29, 1965, Ser. No. 475,637 14 Claims. (Cl. 220-35) This invention relates to a hinge formed principally of extruded sections and having particular utility in doors and cases wherein at least one of the units which is to be hinged with respect to the other employs an extruded frame.

It is an established practice to form relatively large planar units about rectangular frames of extrusions. Such framed units are widely employed in devices such as screen doors and sides of hinged boxes. The present invention contemplates a hinge which is useful in pivotably joining a pair of such framed aluminum units with respect to one another or framing one of such units with respect to some other surface.

As disclosed in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, the hinge is applied to join together two sides of a music case. Each side is formed of a molded plastic sheet framed in aluminum extrusions. The extrusions which form the two case sides that are to be hinged together each have longitudinally extending semi-circular recesses. A third extrusion consisting of a semi-circular section has one of its ends deposed in each of the recesses. The semicircular section has small lips on two of its edges which mate with similar lips on the outer edges of the semicircular recesses in the two extrusions, to prevent the semi-circular hinge member from being withdrawn from the recesses. A small protrusion which extends from the corner of one of the extrusions mates in a complementary recess formed in the other extrusion to form a hinge line. Thus, the two framed sections abut one another along this hinge line and may be pivoted between a closed position, wherein the semi-circular extrusion is fully extended into both of the recesses, and the two side members abut one another, and an open position wherein the surfaces carrying the openings to the recesses are disposed -at 90 degrees to one another and only the extreme edges of the semi-circular extrusion are disposed within the recesses.

Since the case need only be fixed in either the open or closed position, it is desirable to provide means to lock the case at these two extremes. In the preferred embodiment this is achieved by a pair of arcuate leaf springs which are arranged on the interior of the hinge line with one end embracing one of the extrusions and the other end embracing the other extrusion. The arrangement is such that as the ends of the spring are urged toward one another, they tend to pressure the two cases into either an open or a closed position, but not both. The arrangementis much like an overcenter linkage and the springs are extended to their maximum when the cases are hinged to an intermediate position, between full open and full closed. When in this position, the springs tend to urge the units to move toward either a full open or a full closed position, and tend to retain them in such positions.

Another aspect of the present invention resides in the manner in which the same extrusions which form part of the hinge each have another channel which locks the molded plastic covers into place in the frames. The recess in the extrusion is generally rectangular with an extending lip on one side. The molded frame has a bulged section which may be pressed into the recess and locks therein in order to securely retain the molded case within the frame. 1 7

It is therefore seen to be a primary object of the present invention to provide a hinge consisting of a pair of extruded sections each of which has an arcuate slot formed therein, and a third extrusion having an arcuate cross-section which is adapted to be locked with its ends within the slots so as to form a guide for a pivotable rotation of one of the slotted extrusions with respect to the other.

A further object is to provide such an extruded hinge wherein arcuate spring members have their ends fixed to the two side extrusions so as to bias them into either an open or a closed position.

Another object is to provide a case having two sides, each rectangular in shape and framed with extrusions, a pair of the extrusions being joined by the inventive hinge so as to form a case which may be either opened or closed.

Other objects, advantages and applications of the present invention will be made apparent by the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a case, formed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, shown in a closed position;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the case of FIG- URE 1 shown in an opened position and revealing the hinge of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a detailed sectional view through the hinge taken along line 33 of FIGURE 2, showing the case in an opened position; and

FIGURE 4 is a detailed sectional view through the hinge in a closed position taken along line 4-4 of FIG- URE 1.

Referring to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the invention consists of a case of the type which might be used for a musical instrument. Thecase is formed of a bottom half, generally indicated at 10 and atop half generally indicated at 12.

The sides of each case section are formed of generally rectangular sheets of thin, vacuum formed plastic 14 and 16. The sheets 14 and 16 are generally similar but complementary to one another. Each has an indented handle area 18 and 20 which projects inwardly from the surface of the sheet in the direction of the opposite side panel. These recesses are located along the center of the long side of the panel, opposite to the side hinged to the other panel. As may be seen in FIGURE 1, when the case is closed, with the sides 10 and 12 in abutment to one another, the recesses 18 and 20 form a convenient hand grip for carrying the case.

The side panels 14 and 16 are rectangular in outline and their extreme edges are bent perpendicularly to the main section to form lips 22 and 24 which project fully around the perimeter of the sides to give it a dished aspect. Outwardly extending bulges or ridges 26 and 28 are formed in the middle of each side of the normal edges 22 and 24. The bulges have a width less than that of the inturned edge and they project along the major portion of each of the edges, terminating a short distance from the end of each edge.

These sections 26 and 28 are used to retain the side members 14 and 16 to their edge frames. The edge frames each consists of four sections of aluminum extrusions arranged in a rectangular pattern. The frame for the side 10 consists of an elongated side member 30, a pair of short end members 32 disposed normally to the side member and an elongated hinge member 34 which is disposed parallel to the side member 30 and separated by the width of the end members 32. The case side 12 is similarly framed in an elongated side member 36, a pair of normally disposed edge members 38 and a hinged side member 40.

The four sides of each of the two framing sections are formed of a single length of extrusion beveled at three points and bent normally at these points to form a rectangular frame. The open ends are joined together by wedging angle members into grooves formed in the two adjacent open ends, as the angle member 42. shown in phantom in FIGURE 2.

Thus the cross-sections of the four sides of each of the two frames are identical. The cross-sections of the two halves are shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. The crosssection of the framing extrusion for the side 10, characterized by the cross-section of the member 34 in FIG- URES 3 and 4, consists of a rectangular shape, having a height exceeding its width. On what will be termed the upper face of the section, an arcuate, dead-ended slot 44 is formed. The slot extends normally to the face of the section on which it opens and then curves in the direction of one of the side walls. The cross-section of the slot 44 is uniform except for a tab 46 which extends slightly inwardly, into the slot from the convex side of its opening at the surface of the section.

A second slot 48, adapted to retain the dished edges 22 of the plastic side member 14, is formed from the face of the section opposite to that which carries the slot 44. The slot 48 is generally rectangular and has side walls which extend normally to the face of the section that it opens on. One of its side walls, adjacent to the opening surface, has an inwardly extending protrusion 50. This protrusion is adapted to retain the edge 22 of the plastic side 14 by trapping the bulged section 26 formed along the edge of that side. Thus the protrusion 50 narrows the section 48 to a width which slightly exceeds the thickness of the wall section of the plastic side 14. The full thickness of the slot 48 slightly exceeds the thickness of the side wall plus the width of the bulge 26. Thus the edge of the side 14 may be retained in the slot 48 by pressing the edge with the bulge 26 past the protrusion 50. The bulge is indented as it passes the protrusion and then expands to its normal width when it has passed the protrusion and is trapped by it.

The side of the slot 48 opposite to that which carries the protrusion 50 is chamfered at its intersection with the face of the channel at 52 for a purpose which will be noted subsequently.

The extrusion 34 has one other deviation from a plain rectangular section. This deviation is the one aspect that distinguishes it from the channel section 40, which is the type that is used to frame the case half 12. Otherwise the two are identical. The deviation consists of a small recess 54 formed at the outer corner of the face which has the arcuate slot 44 formed therein.

The section 40 which is typical of the framing for the case side 12 is substantially identical to the section 34 except that it has an extending tab 56 instead of the recess 54. The tab 56 is formed complementary to the recess 54 and is adapted to engage it to form a hinge line in a manner which will be subsequently described. Otherwise the section 40 has an arcuate slot 58 which is similar to but formed in an opposite direction to the slot 44 and a tab 60 which extends into the corner of the arcuate slot. The section 40 also has a slot 62 formed from the opposite face with a protruding section 64 projecting into one of the corners of the slot to retain the bulged section on the plastic side wall 16. The opposite corner of the slot 62 is chamfered at 66.

The two hinge section 34 and 48 are joined together by an arcuate extrusion 70. The arcuate section 70 has the same curvature as the slots 44 and 58 and has a developed width equal to the sum of the depths of the two slots. Its thickness is equal to the thickness of the slots 44 and 58 less the extension of their tabs 46 and 60. The section 70 approximates 90 degrees of arc. Its surface is hardened by any suitable process.

Section 70 has extending tabs 72 on the two edges of its convex face. The arcuate extrusion 70 is assembled to the frame sections 34 and by inserting its ends longitudinally into the slots 44 and 58 before the frames are closed by inserting the angle members 42 to lock the two free ends of the frame. The tabs 72 prevent the ends of the arcuate section from being removed from the slots 44 and 58. The units are assembled so that the tab 56 of the frame member 40 mates with the recess 54 of the frame member 34. The two form a hinge line which allows the case sides 10* and 12 to be rotated between the open position shown in FIGURE 3 and the closed position shown in FIGURE 2. In the closed position the arcuate extrusion 70 lies wholly within the slots 44 and 58, while in the opened position only its extreme ends are exposed within the slots. When the case is in the closed position the tab 56 which runs continuously around the frame sections 36, 38 and 40 mates with the recess 54 which runs completely around the frame sections 38, 32 and 34, to form a seal.

The two sections are biased into either an opened or a closed position by a pair of arcuate springs The springs 80 are formed of arcuate sections of thin sheet spring steel. One of the springs 80 is located adjacent to each of the extreme ends of the two hinged frame sections 34 and 48. The springs 80 have bent sections 82 on their extreme edges which fasten over the charnfers 52 and 82 of the frame sec-tions 34 and 40 respectively. The arcuate springs then pass over the interior side of the hinge frame section as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4.

The springs 80 act, with the frame sections, as an overcenter linkage. The ends 82 of the springs are urged toward one another by the spring tension. When the case sides 10 and 12 are in an intermediate position, half-way between opened and closed, the spring ends 82 are at an extreme distance from one another. If the case is moved to either an opened or a closed position the spring ends move closer to one another. Thus the springs urge the two case sides into either an opened or closed position but resist motion toward the intermediate position between open and closed. In order to firmly lock the case in the closed position, a permanent bar magnet 84 is embedded in the lip of the frame section 36 and a bar of iron 86 is embedded in a complementary position in the frame section 30. When the case is in a closed position the magnet attracts the iron and the case is retained firmly closed.

A pair of plastic cover sheets 87 (FIGURES 3 and 4) extend along the inner sides of the plastic covers 14 and 16 and abut the ends 22 and 24 so as to maintain the edges sprung outwardly and prevent the withdrawal of the sections 26 and 28 from their retaining slots 48.

A pair of extending inserts 89 are retained in the channels 48 of the side sections 32 With their ends projecting outwardly therefrom. When the case is closed the projecting ends engage the channels of the side edges 38 of the opposite panel to prevent the panel from sliding with respect to one another.

It is thus seen that the present invention provides a simple method of forming a case wherein the same extrusions which form the frames to the case act as hinge members.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A hinge, including three members, two of the members consisting of extruded sections having slots, arcuate in cross-section, formed therein, and the third member consisting of an extrusion which is arcuate in cross-section, and has a developed width at least equal to the developed depths of the arcuate slots in the other two sections, said arcuate member being disposed with its sides in each of the arcuate slots and arranged so that the first two extrusions may be moved between an open position, wherein only the ends of the arcuate member are disposed in the two slots, and a closed position, wherein the full width of the arcuate member is disposed within the two slots.

2. The hinge of claim 1 wherein the two extruded sections have lips extending along one of the edges of the arcuate slots, and the arcuate member has complementary lips formed at two of its extreme edges so that the arcuate member may only be assembled to the first two extrusions by extending it longitudinally into the slots and the lips prevent the arcuate member from fully leaving the slots when the two extrusions are in their open position.

3. The hinge of claim 1 wherein spring means are provided which are connected to each of the first two extrusions and are adapted to urge them into either the open position or the closed position.

4. A hinge of the type described, including: a first pair of extruded sections, each having an elongated slot therein which is arcuate in cross-section; a third extruded member, arcuate in cross-section and having a curvature similar to the curvatures of the two .arcuate slots, such arcuate member being adapted to be disposed with its sides in each of the arcuate slots; and an arcuate leaf spring adapted to have each of its ends engage one of the two extrusions on the sides of the extrusions opposite to those which contains the arcuate slots, said springs being adapted to press theextrusions together so as to urge them into either an open or a closed hinged position.

5. The hinge of claim 4 wherein one of the first pairs of extrusions has a recess extending along its length and the other of the pair of extrusions has a lip extending along its length, the lip being formed complementary to the recess and being adapted to engage the recess under the urging of the spring so as to form a hinge line.

6. The hinge of claim 5 wherein the spring is connected to the first pair of extrusions so that the spring is extended to its maximum when the pair of extrusions are hinged to a point mid-way between their extreme open and extreme closed positions.

7. A hinge of the type described, comprising: a pair of elongated extruded members each having an arcuate slot of the same radius formed in one of their surfaces, the extrusions being disposed adjacent to one another so that the two arcuate slots lie on the same circle; an elongated extrusion having an arcuate cross-section with the radius equal to that of the arcuate slots, the developed width of the cross-section of the arcuate extrusion being approximately equal to the developed depths of the two arcuate slots, said arcuate section being disposed with one of its ends in each of the arcuate slots; means projecting from the slots and from the arcuate section preventing full withdrawal of the arcuate section from the arcuate slots; and a plurality of arcuate springs, arranged at spaced intervals along the hinge, and each having one end attached to each of the pair of extrusions so as to bias said extrusions into either an open position, wherein only the ends of the arcuate section are disposed in the arcuate slots, or a closed position, wherein substantially the total width of the arcuate section is disposed within the arcuate slots.

8. The hinge of claim 7 wherein one of the pair of extrusions has a recess and the other of the pair of first extrusions has a lip formed complementary to the recess, the pair of extrusions being disposed so that the lip fits within the recess to form a hinge line, and the springs being so arranged that their ends are spaced at a minimum distance when the first pair of extrusions are either an opened or a closed position, and are spaced at greater distances when the first pair of extrusions are disposed between their opened and closed position.

9. A case consisting of a pair of halves, each half being framed in an aluminum extrusion and closed by a plastic sheet, each aluminum frame consisting of an elongated aluminum extrusion, bent normally at three points to form a rectangular frame, the extrusions each including an arcuate slot, and being hinged together along a common pair of sides by an arcuate extrusion which has a portion of its width in each of the slots.

10. The case of claim 9 wherein the extrusions which form the frame are closed by angle brackets which fit in slots in the two extreme ends of each extrusion.

11. The case of claim 9 wherein the aluminum extrusions which form the frames are generally rectangular in cross-section and have angular cuts formed at the three points of the bends.

12. A case of the type described, comprising: a pair of halves, each half consisting of a rectangular aluminum frame extrusion adapted to retain .a generally planar plastic side member with dished edges extending generally normally to the plane of the side member, the extrusions each having an arcuate slot formed therein; and an arcuate extrusion having a length less than that of one of the sides of the half having a portion of its width disposed in the arcuate slots of one of the sides of each of the halves, so as to form a hinge.

13. An extrusion useful for framing a case and forming part of a hinge used in the case, comprising: a rectangular section having a dead-ended arcuate slot extending from one of its faces and a dead-ended slot extending from the opposite of its faces, the arcuate slot being adapted to receive an arcuate hinge member and the dead-ended slot extending from the other face being adapted to receive a planar side member.

14. The extrusion of claim 13 wherein the slot extending from the other side has a protrusion extending from the opening of the slot so as to close oif a portion of the slot.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 724,962 4/1903 Soss 16-178 746,398 12/1903 Soss 16-178 1,648,781 11/1927 Pepin 16178 2,023,978 12/ 1935 Shields 220-31 2,144,481 1/ 1939 Bryant 220-31 X 2,371,729 3/ 1945 Aspenlciter 16178 FOREIGN PATENTS 735,423 8/ 1955 Great Britain.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner, 

1. A HINGE, INCLUDING THREE MEMBERS, TWO OF THE MEMBERS CONSISTING OF EXTRUDED SECTIONS HAVING SLOTS, ARCUATE IN CROSS-SECTION, FORMED THEREIN, AND THE THIRD MEMBER CONSISTING OF AN EXTRUSION WHICH IS ARCUATE IN CROSS-SECTION, AND HAS A DEVELOPED WIDTH AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE DEVELOPED DEPTHS OF THE ARCUATE SLOTS IN THE OTHER TOW SECTIONS, SAID ARCUATE MEMBER BEING DISPOSED WITH ITS SIDES IN EACH OF THE ARCUATE SLOTS AND ARRANGED SO THAT THE FIRST TWO 